The Eternal Flame
by ElizaXSpears
Summary: William is requested to tell a story on Halloween night. M to be safe.


"And then, she was cursed to have painful tangles in her hair for the rest of her life!"

On Halloween night, Eric and Ronald had wanted a story that would chill them, perhaps even scare them, but when Grell mentioned he knew a horror story, they were expecting something more bone chilling then an eternal bad hair day. "'kay, yeah, that was awful." Ronald said as he stretched his arms above his head.

"To you maybe, but men will never understand the horrors of having long, flowing hair." He pulled his long red hair over his shoulder, running his red manicured nails through it.

"Eric-senpai knows how ta style hair, right-Eric?" Upon looking at the older blonde, both of them found Eric asleep at the table, head in his folded arms upon the table top. "Heh, guess he thought it was borin' too." He shoved Eric's shoulder. "Hey, get up. Grell's done."

With a snort, Eric shot up, eyes alert and searching about the room before he slouched back in his seat remembering where he was. "Done? Damn. I should hire ya ta read me bedtime stories."

Ronald laughed. "I second that idea."

Grell scoffed, standing from his chair. "The two of you are brutes to this lady."

"Fer askin' ta read us bedtime stories? Mm, not sure tha's really brute like." Eric shrugged, drumming his fingers on the tabletop. "Anyway, you got a good spooky story Ron?"

Ronald shook his head. "Nope." He tapped his knuckles against his skull. "Nothin' too imaginative up here."

Sighing, Eric stood from his seat and exited the office, looking up and down the halls of the practically abandoned office building. "Well, I don't see anyone else."

Ronald frowned. "That mean we don't have our Halloween story this year?"

"Guess not."

"Damn."

Grell waved away his disappointment. "At least I can get my beauty sleep tonight."

Eric stretched his arms above his head, cracking his fingers but gave himself a fright when he turned to suddenly face someone else. "Shit!" he jumped back only to glare at the smiling of face of Alan. "Damn it Al. Give me a heart attack why don't ya?"

Alan laughed. "I'm sorry Eric. I didn't think a reaper like you could be scared my little 'ol me." He folded his hands together, batting his eyes innocently.

Eric smirked. "Jackass."

Alan dropped his hands to laugh again. "Anyway, I was curious to see if you three were finished with your spooky stories."

"Yep." Ronald leaned against the doorway, Grell pushing past him. "But Grell didn't exactly have a scary story."

"To you two." The red head try to defend.

Alan could only guess the story but didn't want to sit around and here it. "I'm sure these two aren't giving you the benefit of the doubt."

"They aren't!" then his eyes slid to Alan as his body glided to him. "Do you want to hear it?"

"Ah, no thank you." He folded his hands behind his back.

"So why did ya come ta see if we were done?" Eric asked.

"I was curious."

"Wanted ta join?" Ronald guessed.

And to that, Alan stepped back, waving his hands rapidly in front of him. "No, no, no. I do not need more horror stories implanted into my mind. I couldn't sleep at night!"

"But it's fun ta be scared!"

"I'd rather not."

Eric reached out a gloveless hand to ruffle Alan's hair and his feathers, Eric smirking at the annoyed look he received. He could see Alan about to tell him off, but his eyes caught a silhouette moving across the end of the hall. "Spears!" he called knowing the form instantly and sure enough, the man came into view a moment after. "Evenin'."

"Slingby…the rest of you." He gave a polite nod. "I wasn't aware you were interested in such stories, Humphries."

"I'm not sir. I just wanted to see if they were done."

"For what reason?"

Alan reached into his pocket and handed Eric a key. "Idiot lost it awhile back."

Eric's eyes widened as he snatched the key from Alan's fingers. "The hell you find it?"

"Under the papers in my office."

"…really?"

"Mm hm. You must have left it on my desk and I must have accidently placed my papers over it without realizing it."

"Well damn." He smirked, slipping the key into his pocket then reached into his other, pulling out a nearly identical key. "Here Spears. Don't need it anymore."

"Thank you Slingby." William said as he took back the key then attached it to his key ring. "Now do be sure not to lose your office key again."

"I won't." then he got to thinking as William had turned to leave again. His long shadow drifted down the hall caused by the only lights at the end of it, his body returning to a silhouette. "Wait."

An audible sigh was heard as William turned around again. "What is it now Slingby? I have work I must finish."

"When don't ya? Anyway, I gotta ask." He walked forward, hooking his arm around William's. "Do you got a scary story ta tell us?"

"A scary story? I have no time to tell you even if I did." He shook Eric free. "Besides, the story I do know may not even give you the thrill you're looking for."

"Does it gotta do with hair?"

"No."

Eric grabbed William's wrist. "Good enough for me." He turned to Ronald and Grell. "Think so?"

"I wanna hear it." Ronald nodded.

"If Will can hold me when I get scared, but all means. Tell it." Grell winked and blew a kiss.

William frowned. "I have work to do, Eric. Please allow me to do so."

"Come on Spears. Take one little break to scar your reaper's?"

"No, I-"

"Will, darling, please?" Grell stuck out his bottom lip and folded his hands together with large puppy like eyes.

"No. Now allow me t-"

"Will! Please!" he bolted forward, hugging William from the side. "If you tell us I won't bother you all day tomorrow."

"…really?"

"Yep!"

"Alright then."

Grell blinked as William shook him off and entered the room with others, a tad hurt, but he followed after, taking Alan's arm in with them. "G-Grell! No, I can't. I don't like these sorts of things." Alan said trying and failing to take his arm from Grell.

"Darling, it's alright. Eric will be here to protect us."

"From physical things, yes, but not from my thoughts!" he tried again only to have Eric pick him up. "Nng, Eric! Put me down!"

"Sorry Al. You're stayin'." Eric stated, sitting Alan down on his chair and holding him down until Ronald closed and locked the door.

"I. Hate you." Alan muttered, giving up in his struggles to fight the older and stronger reaper.

Eric smirked, watching William sit between Grell and Ronald. "May I use this candle?" William asked taking the only light in the room which sat in the middle of the table.

"By all means." Eric said.

"Thank you." William took the base of the candle holder and brought it close to him, illuminating all his charming features in Grell's eyes. "Alright. Now, I'll merely say this once more. My story may not give you the thrill of horror you were looking for, I felt rather unsettled by it when Undertaker first told it to me." He cleared his throat. "Have any of you heard of the Eternal Flame?"

"This isn't gonna be a romantic horror story, is it?" Ronald asked leaning his elbow on the table, his head resting in his hand.

"Not exactly. In this case, the Eternal Flame does not represent love, but a soul. A soul that will never die, never be reaped and never consumed by any being of Heaven or Hell. The soul belongs to a woman who lived in a town simply named, Aelville, though her name was never recorded in any books, some of the townsfolk never even knew what she looked like but it is said she kept to herself, never had a friend, a husband, child, anyone, however those who did see any detail of the woman was the last thing they ever saw as on every night on the first of October the woman would enter any house with candles lit and steal men, women and children out of their beds. For days on end, the souls would be missing until someone would come across them ditched in the town's stables with their chests torn open and hearts torn out and when the hearts later appeared, they were on stakes in the backyard of the woman's home. See, this woman believed that removing the beating heart from someone young would in return give her eternal life and beauty."

"How long did this happen for?" Grell asked.

"Quite some time." William answered. "The reason no one ever accused her of witchcraft or murder was the fear of them being next until a brave soul caught the woman trying to steal away her daughter. From there, she was trailed and found guilty yet she wasn't executed in the conventional way. She was taken to her home, tied to the large oak in her back yard and beheaded, her head buried under the oak and her body buried in the graveyard, yet her life only physically ended." William gestured to the candle. "Every night after her death, a red candle burned in the woman's bedroom, always bright, never flickering. The people of this town never knew what to think of it as those who did try to blow out the flame would only exit the house to see it lit again."

"Did anyone stay inside the house after blowing the flame out?" Alan asked. "To see how it relit itself?"

"One tried, but they said he fled the house in the middle of the night seeing an apparition of a headless woman standing by the candle, but what he also said, was only when he saw that figure, did the flame flicker as if a powerful wind were blowing it yet there was not even a slight breeze drifting through the open window." He cleared his throat once more before continuing. "When the year ended and October came around again, the town was plagued by death. Every living thing that existed in that town, collapsed dead without an explanation. Even the birds flew to their deaths when simply passing over the town and this happened every year until the town became one large cemetery, yet one record stated that they saw the candle in the woman's room flicker every night on that day and when the last person in that town passed, the flame," he lifted the candle, blowing on the flame, "went out." He set the candle back on the table and impressed his listeners by waving his hand over the wick to reignite the flame.

"How'd you do that?" Ronald asked.

"A magician never reveals his secrets." He folded his hands on the table. "The candle stayed dead until the next year when it returned to life, stronger and brighter than ever. Reapers have tried to collect her soul, but in their attempts, they disappear. Some say it's why we are so understaffed to this day. Some believe she kills those who try to take her from her 'beauty' of her home, that it is her soul that keeps the flame eternal and a warning to all those that come to her town, that if you dare step on her soil, you won't be coming back." He blew out the candle again but this time, the flame didn't return.

"…Spears?" Eric took out his lighter and lit the candle, the group jumping at the disappearance of William. "He's…gone?" Eric asked looking around the room and seeing not a trace of the man. "I didn't see 'im make a portal or open the door ta leave."

"Did any of us?" Alan asked.

"Nope." Ronald shook his head.

"I didn't." Grell said staring at his arms as he swore he was holding onto William. "Well, I'm sure it's just another trick." He stood, shaking slightly. "I'm going to go home and head to bed."

"Yeah, good idea."

Grell was the first one to the door and when he stepped out, he heard the crunching paper. Looking down, he lifted the paper he stepped on to find out it was torn out death list, one that belonged to William T. Spears and the last place on the death list was Aelville…


End file.
